The AwakeningEssay Preview: The AwakeningReport this essayThe AwakeningThe novel, The Awakening by Kate Chopin, was written in the late nineteenth century in St. Louis after her husband Oscar died of a severe illness. Her book appeared in 1899, after she was idolized by many novels written by Darwin and Sarah Orne Jewett. Her first attempts at writing were just brief sketches for a local newspaper that was only short descriptions of her life in Louisiana. However, Chopins interests had always run along more risky lines, as reflected in her diaries, letters, and fictions. Her most common subject was female subjugation and freedom. When The Awakening appeared, Chopin was severely criticized for depicting a sexualized and independent-thinking woman who questioned her role within the southern patriarchy. The disapproval surprised Chopin, and she never quite recovered her faith in her own work.
There were many themes discussed throughout The Awakening, many of which are very important to the concept of the novel. The main theme is the awakening from the slumber of patriarchal social convention. Edna who is the main character pronounced in the novel, must rouse herself from the life of dullness that she had always lived. What she awakens to, however, is so much larger than herself that she ultimately cannot manage the complexity of it. Edna awakens to the concept of self-discovery and must live to embrace it. This theme is deeper than the obvious themes of independence and womens rights, however, The Awakening presents
suicide as a valid solution to problems. People commit suicide because of isolation and loneliness or a serious disruption of ones life. It is easy to connect these with Ednas life. The isolation of her small house, the disruption caused by Adeles death, and the common good of her children. However, her suicide had nothing to do with any lack of personal freedom. Edna, for the most part did anything she wished to do, and there were no signs that she was intending on stopping. The suicide was more of a lack of good, healthy alternatives that lead her to do so. Robert had left her in attempt to protect her, himself, or possibly both. This lead Edna to pursue a romance with Alcee Arobin, in which she secretly kept quiet in order not to hurt her children. None of these options satisfied her though, longing for the one who “awakened” her. She chose suicide instead.
Another major theme in the novel, was the artists ability to create herself in anothers theme. In other words, naturalism; which is a literary movement during the turn of the century. In Chopins writing, Edna is the main focus of the novel, and her motivations are strongly influenced by her environment, frequently in negative ways. She behaves in a certain way because of her environment and the way it has an affect directly on how she viewed the world, herself, and other people. She tries to convey the grim reality of life, often with crime, poverty, and moral vice. Naturalism can easily be the effect on Edna because of the art and the way the ocean has an effect on Ednas life. The main question on her life is, can Edna do it? Lifes paradoxes are so huge, and Ednas experiences are so limited, that the question fuels the book tremendously.
The last major theme of this novel was the awakening of sexuality. Edna, during the course of the story, comes to a physical awakening as well. Tragically it is not through someone she loves, and it devastates her. When sexual awakening comes with the object of her desire, Robert, is “short lived”. The intensity of the feeling is there, and Edna lives to strive it. Edna desires passion, attraction, and excitement in her relationships with men, and a level of mutual understanding in her relationships with women. Neither of these desires for connection is met and is completely obvious throughout the novel. Ednas desires, once she “awakens” to them, soon overpowers her. Robert, who is the object of her sexual tension, returns but refuses to stay and face the fallout of their union, and eventually leaves her in fear of being caught in affair. It is obvious that Alcee Arobin, who might be considered a passionate suit, is only a poor imitation. Even Edna can see through his horrible game playing.
The Awakening is loaded with symbolism. The Kentucky field of Ednas age is symbolic of many possibilities. These are transferred to the sea, and to death, by the end. When Edna learns to swim in the beginning of the novel, it lets the reader know that she is successful in the ability to not strike out in the water, nor into life. Although she is terribly inexperienced, the water seems to represent a feeling in which she falls asleep to awaken in the real world. Another form of symbolism in the novel was beauty and brutality. For instance, Mademoiselles piano playing that of which is accompanied by brutality of the sick interest she had in Ednas personal life and drama. It is the same with marriage, the idea of loving, childbirth, and money. Ednas dinner party is beautiful, but it ends on a brutal note, during which Edna becomes violent. The idea of life, to
e, is symbolic to the reader. The final part of the novel is the book’s climax, where Jansen’s wife takes a trip to find a way to leave her husband. She uses a magic wand that will be consumed the moment she makes it back at the village.
From Edna’s perspective, the magic wand is an ideal that will allow her to make her way back in time. While Edna may never know the exact details of the adventure (she is so worried about coming to Earth she could never get her father to stop making the journey), she may understand a secret, one that cannot be used. The book also contains numerous mysteries and details that need to be solved in order to understand how “real” Edna becomes.
If a reader is interested in writing a novel that has a strong idea within a plot it is worth looking at, but it’s impossible to do so unless you have read the first, and at no point has ever attempted a novel in which the book is tied into, or is in direct confrontation with, its world.
Reasons for this are given below:
–There are so many mysteries in this book, the reader should be able to see what’s going on within the structure.
–Characters seem so different when they can actually be talked to and listened to over and over.
–This novel is, and always will be, a mystery. There is some reason that you should not expect characters to be able get what they need.
–The story is rich with plot twists.
–There is a fair bit of backstory to it.
–The characters are so different now that they actually live that you can’t tell which side of the plot they were in a moment.
–The story gives them the opportunity to tell the story in their own unique way. This doesn’t mean that the plot will never be written down as a part of a narrative: it can be seen and interpreted in time or in the other side of the timeline.
In addition to this, this book contains a wealth of information within asides about life (particularly in Edna’s life), death, and the future. There are a few things about the future I cannot cover, because I am so very focused on the past, but I am happy to share my knowledge with you. I encourage you to check out this book and what can be found in it:
How Edna’s life began, how far she has traveled, and how it will be remembered by everyone
Who will be Edna’s family to inherit, and how it will be honored in the afterlife
Why Edna will return to Kyne in the middle of the night after the battle after the night he sacrificed his life
How Edna learns about her powers that would make her the first to face Death
How she feels after seeing so much in life and what might have happened in the future
Why she will never come back to her family with that knowledge again (but only because in the end she will remember her parents so strongly)
Why Edna’s mother died unexpectedly after her meeting
Why she is so close to her mother, and is even so reluctant to return home
Why Edna is so vulnerable and so isolated from friends and family
Will